The present invention relates to balance boards, and more particularly a balance board with specially-contoured and textured top and bottom surfaces for being ridden on a pipe roller or other supporting device.
Balance boards are boards that are made to be stood on and balanced on a roller. Balance boards have been in existence for years, although different balance boards may be specifically designed for different purposes. For example, some balance boards are marketed as exercise kits for learning basic balance skills, while others are marketed as sports training devices to improve strength, balance and proprioception. As a sports activity in and of itself, however, conventional balance boards have limited utility by virtue of their design. Further, a large segment of sports activity is known as “extreme” sports (or “action” or “adventure” sports). Extreme sports involves more challenging moves or stunts and a higher degree of difficulty and danger than average sports, and therefore usually requires highly specialized gear. There is presently no known balance board that accommodates the extreme sports market. Most boards are clunky, heavy, and cumbersome to manipulate for extreme board sport use.
Existing balance boards suffer from one or more shortcomings with respect to extreme sports. The first is excessive slippage between the board and the roller. Many existing balance boards are designed with un-textured bottom surfaces and are intended for use with textured, coated rollers. Another shortcoming is that boards are designed either an entirely flat bottom surface, or, from a top view perspective, have an entirely concave lateral plane. Yet other disadvantages include the use of end stops, structures, grooves, and tracks, on the board and/or roller, which hinder a fuller range of motions, specifically pitch motion, yaw movement, and lateral roll of the board. Yet another shortcoming is using rollers of odd shapes, which decrease stability and increase wobble for the rider.